


Badass

by Ayauran



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2019-09-12 05:49:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16867288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayauran/pseuds/Ayauran
Summary: Lets take a few steps back and see just how these two learned to work together. Mello and Matt are growing up at Wammy's but there is a lot going on that most don't know about. Follow the pair as they make their way through life! Limited expansion on themes and whereabouts. These two will keep you guessing for a little while. Be prepared for the roller coaster as they attempt to find common ground.





	1. Meeting of the Roommate.

I opened my eyes slowly, praying that last night had not been a dream, but also half hoping it was. Yesterday I was sent from the orphanage to a place called Wammy's. It's another orphanage, but apparently, for gifted children. I got to take my first ever trip on an airplane, flew from America to England. When I arrived in the airport terminal in England I saw an old man waiting for me. I knew it was for me because he had my name written on a big piece of cardboard. It was not an easy trip, I wasn’t allowed to play my game on the plane. I was hoping there was enough time getting from the airport to Wammy's that I could play a level or two. 

Currently Pokémon Yellow was in my game boy, but I could switch it over to Kirby's Dreamland. That way I'd get more game in. The old man greeted me politely and we were on our way. At first, I thought we would be taking a Taxi or a bus. That’s how I got to the airport in America. To my surprise he led me to a stretch limo. My eyes must have been bugging out of my skull. Luckily, if they threatened to pop out too far, my goggles would catch them.

When we got to Wammy's I was worried it would be a total nightmare. Smart kids running all over, crowded hallways, another grungy old building. Instead I was presented with huge black iron double gates. A long winding road, and a gorgeous stretch of green grass. Off to the side I could see a play area, as we came around the trees and hedges, a looming but beautiful building came into view. I was glad I was too engulfed by the scenery on the way here to turn on my game. I mentally counted the windows. Four stories high.

The limo pulled up at the bottom of the small set of steps leading into the building. All I could do was stand there and gape. The old man cleared his throat and led the way through a set of heavy double doors. The first thing I saw, was what seemed to be a marble tiled floor. I looked down at myself next, the warden...err...head of the other orphanage, had insisted on me wearing ‘nice’ clothes. I wore an old hand-me-down black t-shirt, and a pair of not ripped to shreds jogging pants. My shoes were at least eight years old, having gone from white to black over time. I felt so out of place amongst all the vast clean area in front of me. I felt like throwing up.

I was led to the old man's office. I got a map of the orphanage and school areas, a timetable, a new bag and laptop, some school books, and was promised new clothes would be bought for me. He talked about how each floor was a little different, but easy to navigate. The first floor had all the offices, and other staff stuff. The next floor up had all the classrooms, computer rooms, the lunchroom, teacher lounge, etcetera. The third and fourth floors had the bedrooms for the children/students.

He said each room held two students, so I would have to bunk with someone. I was more than okay with that, at the old orphanage we had about six to eight people per room, which sucked. It was cramped; I couldn't play my games, nothing. I was excited. Apparently my roommate was not so easy to get along with but I figured that would be ok. I didn't care to talk much anyway. Tonight was all about getting comfy here and getting all my stuff put away. Tomorrow, some kid the old guy called "Near" would be giving me the grand tour. So we got out of classes that day. I was getting ready to leave when he spoke up.

"Oh, Mail. Before you go, you need this." He handed me a thick folder.

I opened it and the first thing my eyes hit was a picture of myself. The name beside it was Matt.

"Here at Wammy's everyone has an alias. No one is to know anyone else's real name. We are all striving to become the next L. I am sure your classmates will explain in time. Everything you need is in there. Every student has one. None have their former names or information anymore."

I simply nodded. After that he led me to the room I would be staying in, the bed closest to the door covered in plain white sheets with a black blanket overtop. Beside it was a dark nightstand. The desk against the wall next to it had school books, a laptop, and a lamp on either side. On the other side of the door was the dresser and a small closet. The other side of the room was set up in a similar fashion, reflecting the other.

The bed had white sheets, but a blue blanket, the desk was bare except for a lamp, the nightstand had a lamp on it, and the dresser and closet were likewise bare. I moved my school things and laptop to the desk, basically just dumping it all over the top. I dropped my two main bags on the floor in front of the empty bed, and took the small bag off my shoulders, carefully laying the game filled vessel on the nightstand.

The door closed behind me. I walked back to the desk, moving my laptop closer to the wall and grabbing the map of the building. I spread the map out, making sure I memorized it. The last thing I needed was to get lost in unfamiliar territory. Once I was finished inspecting the floors I booted up the laptop. The thing was top rate and had a three terabyte memory drive. Quad core, brand new. I was in heaven. The thing had quite a bit of the latest and greatest. It had word, excel, PowerPoint, everything.

This would be one of my new best friends. The first thing I did before they started monitoring what I did, was set up a proxy of my own creation. I wanted to do what I wanted when I wanted, without them blocking me. Of course they knew they had a computer literate kid, but did they know how far that went? As I finished up the proxy and saved it in a password protected file rather than my favorites, the door to the room opened. It had a lock so that meant it must be my room mate. I had my key and the teachers didn't come to this floor.

I turned to check out who came in. My mouth must have hit the floor, it dropped so low. They bunked me with a girl. Was that even legal? I took in the shoulder length blond hair, the black clothes, the black laptop, the school books, and then, the eyes. She had gorgeous blue eyes. She stopped and stared at me for a minute, then turned and put her stuff away neatly. I was still staring when she walked over to the nightstand beside her bed, opened it and pulled out a...was that a chocolate bar?

She tore the foil off the top half and snapped a piece off with her teeth. God that must have hurt, but she seemed unfazed. She sat down in the chair in front of her desk and looked at me again. Her pretty blue stare turned lethal, deadly, cold.

"What!?" she snapped. Her voice was awfully low for a girl. All I could do was stare for a moment before I realized she was talking to me.

"A-are they even allowed to bunk girls with guys?"

The moment the words left my mouth I felt stupid. Her glare intensified until it felt like she was tearing me apart piece by piece with a knife. I heard her mutter a curse under her breath. The next words she spoke changed everything.

"I am not a fucking girl."

Promptly she yanked her shirt off tossing it to the floor, and shred her pants the same way to reveal...oh my god. He had no boxers on. He continued to stare at me, nibbling his chocolate. I realized he was waiting for something.

"I... uh... I'm sorry, your hair, I thought..."

He cut me off with a wave of his hand and the simple word "whatever". My face must have been as red as my hair at that point. He turned, sitting back down and starting reading one of the textbooks in front of him. Well so much for a good first impression. I must have killed it. Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about talking now. I faced my computer screen and quickly pulled up a torrent so I could download a game to add to my collection. I plugged the laptop into the wall and waited while it did its thing.

While I waited I put the few clothes I had in the drawers of the dresser, put my gaming stuff into the nightstand. I turned the lamp on and flicked my game boy on. Plenty of battery power, probably because I haven’t turned the thing on since I left America. I had Pokémon Yellow in there still so I turned it off and dug out a different game. I passed over Tetris. I wasn't in the mood for that right now. I skipped over Pokémon Blue and Red, and pulled out Kirby's Dreamland. I needed the distraction of my games and definitely wanted something to get my mind off things. It was just easy enough I could think of other things while I played, but fun enough to keep me busy for a little while. I was in the middle of hitting a tree with its own apples when my roommate spoke up.

"What are you doing?"

His voice was almost monotone, but very demanding. I shrugged and told him which game I was playing. I hadn't realized he had been staring at me for the last half hour. His eyes were still colder than ice, and his voice was so serious I wondered what was wrong with him. Then again, he was probably pissed that I had thought he was a girl. I saved my game and put it down, giving him my full attention. This would not happen often so I might as well do it now incase it was important.

He didn't say much else. He looked like a hunter as he stared at me, probably thinking of how to get rid of me so I kept quiet. I didn't want to say anything unless I was answering a question. I already seemed to be on his bad side, and judging by his; attitude, clothes, and stare. I figured that’s a bad thing, I need to get into his good books. Fast. We sat still like that for what seemed like hours. There was a bell like sound then and he got up. When I didn't follow suit he turned and snapped at me like I was stupid.

"It's dinner time. Follow me if you’re hungry. Don't fall behind, I will leave you there."

With that he left the room. I scrambled to my feet, nearly falling face first into the carpet I didn’t notice before on the floor. I bolted out of the room to find he was standing right beside the door.

"Lock up."

I quickly dug the key out of my pocket and did so. I barely caught up with him as he turned the corner at the head of a set of stairs. Dinner sucked. A lot of people were asking me questions, pushing for info. I wished I could disappear. My roommate didn't speak to anyone. The one person, who tried to get an answer out of him, got growled at, literally.

When hell was over and we were back in the bedroom, I was so relieved. Now I could play my games and just get away from everything.

"What. Am I not good enough to talk to or something?"

I turned away from my bed, my game boy just inches away from my hand.

"Well?" He urged.

I hadn't realized he was expecting an actual answer. Oooops. The smart remark that comes out of my mouth?

"Since when did you change your mind?"

That earned me another round of glares. So much for a good side. I tried hard to keep a poker face.

"My name is Ma-" I didn't get to finish, he cut me off.

"I don't care. Go to sleep."

With that he stopped what he was doing and crawled under the blankets of his bed. With a sigh I give in and do the same. I probably need the sleep anyway. It took me a while to fall asleep. After a while of silence I rolled over to see my room mate hovering over me. I didn't jump, didn't blink, just stared at him.

"What?"

He seemed surprised at my lack of response to him. He shrugged, said nothing and walked back to his bed. It was then that I realized something wasn't right. That look in his eyes, wasn't right. I rolled over, hoping for the best.


	2. The Tours.

So here I am, the morning of my second day. My room mate slams his hand down on an alarm clock to shut it up. He groans and stretches. And that reminds me that last night wasn't a dream. I sigh with both relief and fear. What was he doing last night? A light tap on the door warns us of another person. My room mate snarls at the door.

"Go back to bed! It's early."

The person on the other side is unfazed. His voice is calm, steady and quiet.

"I'm here to give a tour, not to spar verbally with the likes of you."

Add bland to that mix. I didn't have a good impression of Near at this point, but as my roommate turned his glare on me, I shot out of bed, dressed in record time and bolted out the door. Anything was better than another minute in there.

As the door slammed shut behind me I began to second guess which was better. The kid in front of me was small. He must be like five years old. All he had on was a long sleeved white shirt and a pair of white workout pants that were two sizes too big. His hair was the same as his clothes. White, kinda straight with some curl action at the ends. Near screamed boredom no matter how you looked at him. His eyes were a muted black, cold, but calculating. That’s when I realized he was waiting for me to say something.

"My name is Matt."

Near just nodded, twirling a strand of his hair around his finger, he didn't even say hello. Instead Near just held his hand out in front of him waiting for me to start walking. I noticed a toy stuck in his pants pocket. Well that’s interesting.

It took Near three hours to show me everything. The only place we didn't go was the girls’ floors. Which was fine by me, I didn't want cooties after all. The last place he took me was in the main hall that was surrounded by classrooms. The bullet board there was covered in organized sheets of white paper. All that white made me wonder if he was the one who thought this up. I looked up at the first page on the far left, noticing the numbers first. In place number one was Near’s name. In second was a kid called Mello. For every number there was a name.

Rankings, this had to be the rankings. I looked at Near. All he did was nod. Seems like he knew what I was thinking. His voice rang out quietly beside me.

"These are posted every two weeks. Every second Friday morning, the rankings and score are placed here in order. The students that want to see the daily or weekly ranks, Wammy's has set up an online database which each student can view on their own laptops. Only the top twelve are shown on there however."

I nodded my head. I really couldn't think of anything to say at that point. Near gave me a once over with those eyes of his. He must think I'm stupid. I haven't said a single word this whole trip around. And I've had a pretty blank look on my face to boot. All I wanted to do was go play my games for a bit and let it all sink in. My hands moved to the band of my goggles of their own accord. Adjusting them felt so normal to me.

Near's eyes narrowed however.

"Why do you hide behind those."

Not a question. I shrugged. I didn't consider it hiding; my goggles just make it easier to play games in a dimly lit room, especially because I didn't have a game boy light. I wore my goggles outside because they made the sun easier to bear. I wore them inside because the golden lenses were made for seeing better in dark areas. I didn't need a bright light on my gameboy to play it. I guess I did wear them all the time, so in a way they could be used to hide behind. I shook my head and looked around. Which way was back to the room?

Near seemed to realize what I was thinking, because he started walking down the hallway and turned left. I followed him because I really didn’t know what else to do. Hopefully my room mate would be in class by now. As we got back to the room Near kept walking, didn't say goodbye, and he didn't wish me luck. Wow, he really was boring. I pulled the room key out of my pocket, thought about it, and decided to knock first just in case.

If my roommate was still in there, I'd run in, grab my map and laptop, and head for the library. There was no answer. Unlocking the door I pushed it open a crack. Lights were off. That was good. I shoved the door open the rest of the way and stepped in, still no sign of him. Excellent, I moved over to my desk and fired up my laptop. First order of business was to change the background, add a password, check my proxy, and play a game to calm down. Thank god I spent all that time last night downloading a game for it. I beat the first three levels in less than a half hour.

Thirty minutes of gaming and calming down out of the way, time to get some real work done. I logged onto my proxy and got busy doing some research. Hacking into the school's mainframe I dragged up as much info as I could about Near. I didn't get much. Even the school records had the bare minimum.

I stared at my screen in disbelief. There was no way this was it. I fired up my own information and got nothing different. Whoever these folks were, they were careful. I dug a little deeper and opened up anything that had been deleted from the computers in the last few months, once again coming up with nothing. I hacked myself past a few more firewalls trying to get anything on Near or the other students. I only got the basics.

I didn't realize the time that had gone by, I was so absorbed in my work that I didn't even hear the door open. The thing that snapped me away from my computer was my room mates voice.

"What the fuck are you doing in the dark?"

I spun my chair around so fast when I stood up it clattered to the floor. He stalked over to me. His blonde hair and white skin only accented how deadly he looked in all that black he was wearing. If his hair had been black, he would be just like Near. All one color. His eyes were full of evil intent. I couldn't help but shiver. It was all I could do. I was frozen, like a deer in the headlights. I was powerless to stop him as he moved in front of me and looked at my laptop screen. Great, my second day, and I was gonna get in serious trouble.

"How did you get into their personal systems."

My room mates voice was muted. I couldn't tell if he was angry or not so I answered honestly. I figured lies would just make this worse for me.

"I-I hacked into them."

My voice sounded so weak. His eyes flashed over to mine and some of the menace was gone. He seemed more curious than anything now.

"How." Was the single word he uttered next.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and thought about the work, not the scary person asking about it. My voice came steady and strong considering.

"I made my own proxy and built my own firewall as soon as I got some time alone. I knew I would have a limited time before they got their hardware set up to track what I was doing. I don't like being messed with so I created my own personal hide away on there. Simple, clean, un-traceable."

My room mates eyes narrowed on me, I knew by the set of his jaw that he was trying to figure out whether or not I was lying. His voice was hard.

"What did you find."

Again I offered him a shrug. "You're looking at it."

 

He pulled up some of the minimized pages and shifted through them. He didn’t look happy.

“I’m surprised you haven’t tried to do a background check on me yet.”

I bit my lip. I had tried to, don’t get me wrong. It’s just hard to check out a person when you don’t know their name. He turned his eyes back to me, waiting for an answer.

“Well…I-I did try.” I managed to get out.

He straightened then and glared at me.

“Tried?” Was all he said, he placed his hands on his hips and waited for me to explain.

I whispered for fear of his anger. 

“Y-yes. See…it’s hard to do a search on someone when you don’t have their name.”

There was complete silence for several moments, so long that I had to look up to make sure he was still there. He was, and he looked confused.

“They didn’t tell you who you were bunking with?”

I shook my head.

“That explains why you haven’t begged to leave yet.”

I thought of him standing by my bed the other night watching me. Perhaps he had killed his last room mate? Or maybe it was because he scared the guy away? Why would anyone beg to be away from him after just one day? The confusion must have shown on my face, because he seemed to be getting annoyed.

“Haven’t you heard the rumors yet?”

I shook my head again. This was getting repetitive.

“Didn’t Near tell you about me?”

Again I answered no. This just seemed to frustrate him even more.

“Of course not, that show off wouldn’t want anyone to know I’m going to beat him. He’s just jealous S.O.B.”

He rolled his shoulders then, and pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket. He tore open the paper and made quick work of the first row, biting into it like it was soft as jell-o. I was surprised his teeth weren’t black and laced with visible cavities. He always seemed to have a sweet treat in his mouth. After he calmed down a little, he seemed more human. I decided to risk a question of my own. I asked him who he was. He laughed a little, and with a smile said.

“I’m Mello.”


	3. The Temper

I made it through Friday without much trouble. But my next problem was going to be Monday. That would be my first day of classes, I admit I was worried but I’m sure I would be alright. I got up pretty early Saturday morning, hoping I would be up long before Mello. My roommate wasn’t exactly the best company.

I turned my brand new I-pods timer off and rolled over. Mello was still asleep. I snuck from bed over to my desk and fired up my laptop. I made sure the screen light was dimmed last night so I wouldn’t wake him this morning. After checking a few things I yanked the desk drawer open and pulled out my timetable and the map of the building. The last thing I needed was to get lost.

I didn’t hear him get up, never heard the covers being moved aside, or the drawers being opened and closed. I didn’t hear the other laptop creak open, or the boot-up sound, nothing of the sort. I turned around from studying my map and making sure I knew my way, and he was just sitting there, silently. I got up as quietly as I could and looked over his shoulder.

He was checking some online website for advanced math problems, but the school firewalls were trying to block him out. He attempted to hack past them but failed miserably. I laughed a little behind his back. He turned around then and scowled at me.

“You think it’s funny! You fix it.” He said this as he threw his hands up and moved away.

I shrugged and hopped on his computer. With a few quick clicks I put him on my personal network. He wouldn’t be able to do as much as me, but it should help with all his online problems. Once I was finished I moved back to my own laptop and let him have his space.

He never thanked me, never spoke, and never seemed to move. He just went about his work quietly. I wondered if everyday would be this quiet. I don’t suppose that’s a bad thing. I don’t mind quiet after all the noise from the old orphanage.

I just settled down on the computer with a new game and a brighter screen now that my roommate was awake. I finished one level before a noise made me turn around. Mello was standing directly behind me, chocolate bar in hand.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

I sat there silently for a moment, debating whether he asked because he wanted to know, or because he was going to give me shit for it. I decided it would be better to tell him, he looked like the kind of person who would kick you if you didn’t tell him what he wanted to know.

“Playing games.”  
He asked how I got them.

“I downloaded them from the net.”

He told me how the school didn’t allow us to download anything. I showed him how to get past the firewalls and find the right sites for downloads that wouldn’t crash his computer.

“I know the question is coming, so just ask it.”

Instead of asking he walked to his desk, dragged his chair over and watched me play a game for a little over an hour. By the time he spoke up again my desk was littered with various chocolate wrappers. I had gotten used to the snap sound of him biting into the cavity creating junk, so when his voice hit my eardrums I nearly jumped out of my chair.

“Well?” Mello asked.

He was giving me a strange look. I hope he didn’t expect me to know what he was asking. I stared at him, only dropping my gaze for a moment to adjust my goggles. Even sitting down he seemed completely and utterly ready to kill something. And that worried me far more than I wanted to admit, and not knowing what he had asked was a problem. He seemed way oo focused while he waited for an answer. So I asked what he wanted to know. I wasn’t surprised anymore about the glare that hit me, or his frustration as he bit into a fresh chocolate bar.

He slowly shifted to move the chair a little closer, and the chocolate bar was hanging out of his mouth. I knew it would be best to keep quiet, maybe even get out of the room before he decided to get angry with me. Instead I reached forward and snapped a small square off the end of the bar and popped it in my mouth.

With that done I turned back to my computer screen, closing the game I brought up a document and jotted down some notes for later. I didn’t see the shocked expression on his face as he glared at the missing piece of his chocolate bar.

“So if you aren’t going to tell me what you want, I can’t do anything for you.” When I finally turned to face him again his blue eyes were like razor sharp blades of ice.

“What. The. Hell.”

He waved his chocolate bar in front of my face like I was the insane one. Each word reminded me of a snake striking at its victim’s throat. I swallowed the lump in my throat and adjusted my goggles once more. Still his gaze made me uncomfortable.

Biting my lip, I wish I had never taken my eyes off of the game. It would have been better if I had just ignored him. He heaved a deep breath and waved the chocolate again.

“You took my chocolate you Ass.”

He spoke as though everything in his world revolved around the stuff. I blinked a couple of times. This is what he was pissed off about?

“Yeah, so? That crap will give you cavities; you shouldn’t eat so much of it anyway.”

Wrong choice of words, he fist slammed out faster than I had expected, if I hadn’t seen it and moved, he may have busted my jaw. I got lucky however, and just got a split lip. I jumped backwards, using what I had learned in previous years to get into a defensive position.

“What the hell is your problem, it's just chocolate!”

The boy I now knew as Mello just glared at me. And despite the curl to his lip as he all but snarled at me, I could see him trying to calm himself down. He attacked the chocolate bar like it was the one that caused the trouble. He devoured the thing like it was a single smartie.

He didn’t apologize, but he made no move to do anything further, so I sat back down and used my shirt to clean the blood off my face.

“You’re an ass.” I muttered under my breath.

I really hoped it would be healed by Monday. Last thing I needed was a bad first impression with whatever awaited me in a classroom. Busted lip? Probably going to get more attention that what I wanted. As I was cleaning myself up, Mello sat himself back down. I heard him murmur something about not touching his things and that was it. The guy seemed to actually be sulking. 

“If it means that much I can just get you another one.”

That seemed to catch his interest, for the first time, those blue eyes swept towards me without a glare. He didn’t seem happy by any means, but at least he wasn’t ticked off. Now I also know why he didn’t have a roommate already either.

From out of nowhere he grabbed another chocolate bar. I just rolled my eyes at him.

“Oh to hell with this.” I shut my laptop down, and flopped myself onto my bed.

I took my goggles off, closed my eyes, and slept like that. I don’t recall much after the land of sleep claimed me. But I knew this wasn’t over, and I also knew, without having to ask, that Mello did indeed expect me to get him a new chocolate bar. My lip still hurt, but I was not going to complain about it. Weakness would be my enemy at this point, and from the way things were going, I wasn’t sure whether Mello and I were enemies yet or not. Better to play it safe for now. That comment made me smile a little; I could turn this into my own personal videogame where Mello was the boss monster.

By the time I woke up, there was already a little bit of light filtering through the curtains. I cracked one eye open slightly, half expecting to find my roommate hovering over me again. When I saw nothing, I grabbed my goggles and yanked them on. Sitting in bed I turned to see if he was in his, but I found him sitting with his back against door. Maybe he was still sulking, or maybe he didn’t want me to escape.

At that point, I didn’t care, the room was fairly cold and the guy only had on a pair of shorts. I took the blanket off his bed and laid it out over him before hopping on my laptop again. It was still really early, and I had no idea what to do here on a weekend. I took the time to try and hack into Wammy’s systems again. Still turning up nothing, but I was nowhere near done. I did remember what that old man had said when I got here, and that this was a school for the gifted, but why did their security have to be so tight.

I changed tactics and decided to look up this mysterious ‘L’ person instead. Apparently that’s what everyone here strove for, so they must be famous in one way or another. After about half an hour of searching I was ready to give up when I heard a noise somewhere behind me. Glancing over my shoulder confirmed what I had expected. Mello was awake, and looking at his blanket like it had teeth.

“You were shivering, thought you could use it.” Was all I said before I turned back to my screen and started closing windows.

I didn’t expect him to respond in anyway, or even acknowledge that I had spoken, and his voice was rough from having just woken up.

“You always up so freaking early?”

I just shrugged. How was I supposed to answer that, if I said yes he could get angry, if I said no he could call me lazy. Why his opinion mattered at all, I had no idea. Maybe I was just trying to get on his good side so I didn’t wake up in the hall or something. Not that shrugging at his questions would help.

“You always gotta wear those stupid things, you look like an alien.”

I paused at his comment and turned to face him, swiveling in the chair with a sigh. Did he really just say my goggles made me look like an Extra terrestrial? I nudged them with my fingertips, considering how to answer for a moment.

“Yeah, I like em. Make gaming easier in dark rooms, and they work kind of like sunglasses during the day.”

Despite everything from the other night I kicked my chin up. “What do you care anyway?”

It came out a little more harsh than I had hoped for, and all he did was raise a brow at me before that famous glare came back. He shrugged, mumbled a whatever, and walked into the bathroom. It wasn’t long after he closed the door that I heard the shower running.


	4. A Learning Curve

I debated my options, leave and check the place out, stay and game, or go to bed and avoid everything. I went to bite my lip as I sometimes did during a particularly hard part of a game, and was reminded how bad of an idea that was. I nearly yelped. Frustrated I stayed where I was. I found myself wondering dimly if there were vending machines in the building. If not I would have to go to a store or something to get a chocolate bar for him later. Both options were a no go at the moment due to lack of money, and he didn’t seem to be short on the damn things anyway.

The sound of running water in the background was oddly soothing. I either sat at my desk doing nothing for way longer than I had thought, or he had taken a really short shower, because before I knew it, the door was swinging open and steam poured into the room. Without thinking I glanced over, and regretted it instantly.

Mello hadn’t even bothered covering up with a towel, he walked out of the bathroom nude. The towel was busy drying his hair. I averted my gaze and stared at my screen, which was dark, giving me nothing to look at but a reflection of my roommates’ ass. Rubbing my temples I wanted to tell him to put some clothes on, the only thing that kept me from doing just that, was the subtle snapping sound of his teeth on chocolate.

“Do you ever eat normal food?”  
The question left my lips before I could stop it, and I had turned to face him when I spoke, a habit I had never cared for.

His towel was draped over his shoulders, his blond hair still a little damp, and those cold blue eyes narrowed on me like I was insane. I didn’t look away, mostly because I didn’t want to give him an opening for another hit. I would be ready if that fist came flying in my direction this time.

He slowly finished what was in his mouth, even as droplets of water hit the carpet beneath him. He seemed to be studying me. Perhaps wondering if I really had lost my mind, maybe he thought I was just dumb, who knew. As long as he was silent however, he was terrifying. I couldn’t quite place it. He always seemed a little frightening when he was clad in black, but as he was now he was even more so frightening, and he didn’t have a damn thing on.

“What kind of stupid question is that? Of course I eat normal food, I’m not a freaking animal.” His voice seemed relatively calm, which made me relax a little.

However, the condescending tone did tell me just how silly my question was. But come on, how was I supposed to know? I had never seen the guy eat anything other than fucking chocolate.

“I suggest you keep comments about my chocolate consumption to yourself.” He finished drying his hair and yanked on a pair of leather pants.

Much to my dismay, he didn’t bother with any kind of undergarment. I couldn’t help it, a thought bubbled into my head, and it was too good to pass up. And since I was making this my own personal video game of life, I might as well push a few limits and see just how far my boundaries can go.

“What are you, some kind of PMS Queen? Chocolate calms you down or some shit?”

Totally unwarranted, could possibly even be seen as a request to be pummeled. And when that head wrenched back around to look at me in shock, I wasn’t bothered. My comment was out, and I was asking for anything he sent my way. However the guy threw me off completely. I was expecting some kind of nasty retort, or maybe a glare. Hell at this point being pummeled would also be a very good option.

Instead, Mello threw his head back and laughed. I couldn’t decide whether the sound itself was scary, maniacal, or downright cute. Yes I said cute. In a strange way, the laugh seemed to be a mix of all three things. I must have had quite the expression on my face when he was done, because he just shook his head.

I guess I had a lot to learn. Either that, or he planned on getting his revenge later. Once he was finished getting dressed I risked asking a few questions.

“So, this place, does it have like a store or something? I still owe you a chocolate bar.”

Mello said nothing, so I pushed another question into the air.

“What about leaving the grounds, is that allowed?”

Again no comment from the blond, I was beginning to wonder if he was ignoring me.

“Is there anything to do around here? How long do they expect us to stay? What’s the deal with L?”

I was just firing off anything I could think of, but when I made a comment about a mysterious ‘L’ My roommate's eyes did finally swing my way. The look on his face was not very promising, and he seemed annoyed. He leaned back at his desk, putting his feet up onto the surface.

“You really have no idea why you’re here huh? L is a genius. We all strive to become the next L, a super agent of sorts. Beat the bad guys by any means necessary. Everyone here is training to become him. Wammy fills our needs, there’s no reason for us to leave, but yes with permission we can go. You didn’t type in the website found in your file did you? It would have explained everything.”

His ice cold stare leveled on the drawer I had tucked the thing away in. I followed his eyes and pulled the thing out. After seeing a whole lot of nothing I hadn’t bothered to finish reading it, so it was no wonder I did indeed miss a link at the bottom of the page. I shrugged.

“I know who I am, so I didn’t really bother with this. Figured it could wait. I was more interested in the organization and everything in it.”

Seemed like a valid and fair point, but as my roommate's eyes narrowed impossibly further, I began to second guess myself. I wondered if Wammy’s provisions could also include video games. It was one of very few things I cared about, and it would be awesome if I could get my hands on more. I was about to fire off more questions when there was a knock on the door. Mello nodded at it, saying something about how it wouldn’t be for him. So I got up and opened the door, standing on the other side was a gentleman in a suit. I stared up at him wondering who the hell he was.

“Matt?” The gentleman had a strange accent, but I nodded.

“You are to come with me. We have shopping to do. Those clothes are not suitable here.”

I looked down at what I was wearing, and thought about the few other kids I had seen here. Suitable didn’t seem like the issue.

“Here at Wammy’s each individual is to have their own things, any clothes brought with them are disposed of unless absolutely necessary, your life here is new, as must your things be.”

He started walking down the hall so I shrugged and followed him out, but not before tucking my game boy in my back pocket. As when I arrived here, we drove into town by limousine. It was kind of strange but I wasn’t about to complain. I adjusted my goggles a little and played my game instead of watching the streets pass by.

Eventually we pulled up to some kind of mall, and my door was opened for me. No one seemed to be paying very close attention to us, so I guess trips like this were somewhat normal within Wammy’s. The man with me stayed close, and I was reminded over and over again that I could pick anything I liked. I wasn’t sure if this was just a shopping trip or some kind of test. I picked the first store I saw with decent clothes and went in. The guy, whose name I learned was George, insisted I try everything I wanted on, to be sure it would fit. So I did. We were done with shopping, or so I thought. On our way out, I saw a video game store, and stopped dead in my tracks. George didn’t miss a beat, he walked into the store ahead of me effectively letting me know this was a stop we could make.

I spent over an hour looking at a bunch of things. Anything I paused on for longer than a minute or two, George put into a basket as we walked along. By the time we were done, he actually took those items to cash and bought them. To say I was shocked was an understatement. A new game system which would need a TV to be hooked up to, and a new DS. Not to mention about fifty games. I was awestruck. I tried to thank him several times, and even suggested they didn’t need to get those extra’s for me. However he just pushed it off saying,

“At Wammy’s we provide what you need to do what you do best.”

It wasn’t much of an explanation but hey, if he wanted to buy it, who was I to say no. At the last minute I asked if we could stop at a corner store for chocolate. George raised a brow at me, and his eyes flicked down to my lip. I had almost forgotten Mello had split it open the other night. He nodded and was happy to give me the money to go and get whatever I wanted. I guess this wasn’t the first time he has dealt with a roommate to Mello.

When we finally got back to Wammy’s it was late afternoon, and though I wanted to carry everything in myself, the guy insisted on doing it for me. Once everything was put on my bed, he asked me to give him any items I no longer needed. So I did as I was asked and gave up all the clothes the orphanage had given me, leaving just my goggles and games that I had brought with me. Mello watched everything in silence.

It was a long while before the door closed, since George insisted on bringing a new TV in right away. He cast a single sideways glance at Mello as he set it up on my side of the room., along with a shelf for the games and such. I told him I could set everything else up myself. And when he finally left, I pulled a chocolate bar out of the corner store bag and threw it at Mello. He caught it with ease, which did surprise me a little, but I didn’t have time to dawdle. I was excited to get everything set up and start playing.

“So… Your ‘thing’ is games huh?”  
At Mello’s comment I looked over my shoulder at him.

“I figured it would have been more just tech, but if that was the case, this wouldn’t be here.”

He nodded at the TV as he bit into the chocolate bar I had gotten him. I just shrugged, I didn’t feel like talking with him right now, and couldn’t be bothered to waste the energy when I could be playing games any minute.

“My ‘thing’ is chocolate.”

That did make me pause. I thought about the other day when I had met Near, I had seen a toy in his pocket. At first I thought it was because he was so young, but maybe that was his ‘thing’ as Mello was putting it. It would explain how Mello had an endless supply of chocolate, maybe Wammy’s was making sure he had it so he could concentrate better? Nothing caught my attention better than a good game, and George must have seen some kind of tell when he went into that gaming store.

“Yes, games are my thing. I am good with the tech, but nothing holds my attention better than a game.”

The comments about attention reminded me of last night before Mello split my lip. He had been watching me play on the laptop, only as long as he had chocolate, every time he ran out he had to go get more. I had chalked it up to a sugar rush, but maybe it helped him focus or something. If that was the case, he may not even be able to get a sugar rush, especially if this was normal for him.

I wondered if they let him bring chocolate into class. They said we were to take classes, though by the looks of the schedule I had been given classes seemed like normal school stuff. Then again, Wammy’s had already surprised me quite a bit, so maybe there was more too it than that. I knew I would find out soon enough, the weekend was almost over.


	5. Utter Shock

After I had gotten everything set up I had played for hours, completely forgetting there was a chance of classes and such the next day. If Mello had said anything, which I doubt he did anyway, I hadn’t heard him. I was so lost in the games, I had never played these ones before and I was kicking some serious ass in them. It was exciting. I raided the little fridge we had in the room a couple of times. Lots of soda pop in there, the sugar helped keep me up.

I knew better than to touch Mello’s chocolate after what he did to my lip. I don’t know whether it was him waking up, or the sunlight starting to come in the window, hell, maybe it was the alarm clock that sat between the beds that went off. Whatever it was, I was randomly alerted to a change. And as Mello slowly dragged himself out of bed with all the finesse of a newborn giraffe I paused my game.

“What are you doing up? It’s only seven in the morning.”

I watched him as he made his way through his closet and such for clothes and grabbed a chocolate bar. He commented on Breakfast being served in twenty minutes, and how classes started soon after that.

“Oh…” Glancing at my game I decided to save it and get changed as well. I yanked on a clean long sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans with a pocket big enough to tuck my game boy in. I grabbed the backpack I had decided to get yesterday, and shoved my laptop and the books I was given in there.

I was beyond exhausted but I figured skipping my first day here would be a bad idea. Mello reminded me to grab my key and keep it close, since we might be back at different times. I didn’t realize he even gave a damn, but then again, he probably just didn’t want to be bothered if I forgot my key.

He didn’t wait for me as he left, and I had to run to catch up. Unlike me, Mello didn’t bother bringing anything but a pencil case. Mello grumbled all the way to the cafeteria which looked more like a mansions dining room. There were others already there too, and seated like they were waiting for food to be served to them.

I looked around for a line or something but there were none. In fact, I couldn’t even see a kitchen. Mello picked a spot randomly at one of the tables, and as everyone else cleared away from him to sit somewhere, else, I figured I would be left alone if I stayed with him. So I sat down at the opposite end of the table. Soon enough Near came up to us, and though Mello scowled at the boy, he remained quiet.

“Hello Matt. Won't you come sit with us?” Near gestured towards another table while twirling that pale hair of his around a finger.

“No thanks.” I didn’t even hesitate to answer, and Near barely raised a brow at me.

His lips thinned a little more though, and that was the only thing that gave away his disappointment. He muttered something about being careful of the company I keep as he walked away. Thankfully no one else approached us after that. But I could see some of the other students glaring at us from other tables.

“Are they always like that?”

Mello had his feet up on the table, and was terrorizing a chunk of chocolate with his teeth. Slowly he glanced over at all the others and flipped them off.

“You didn’t have to do that.” I mumbled.

“First off, they deserve it, secondly, yes; they are always like that to me or anyone with me. And lastly, don’t fucking mumble, I hate that.”

Mello checked a wall clock and put his feet back on the floor. Within seconds a bunch of butler type people brought out tray after tray of breakfast. I had never eaten like this at the orphanage I came from. I could really get used to this. I told Mello I would try not to mumble anymore, and adjusted my goggles before we started eating. Several minutes later everything was cleared for us, and Mello spoke up again.

“First classes start in about thirty minutes. Where did they toss you?”

I was shocked at his question, but I answered quickly, I already knew Mello was not a patient person. He scoffed.

“Oh great. This way then.”

I told him I knew which way I was going, but he ignored me. We walked all the way to the right door, which was still open. We both made our way in and sat down at the back.

“Shouldn’t you be heading out so you aren’t late?” I asked him, but Mello ignored me, throwing his feet up on the desk like he owned the place, and he pulled a chocolate bar out of nowhere.

When the teacher came in, he was dressed in a casual but professional looking suit ensemble. He closed the door behind him, locking any late students out, and all of us in. I glanced at my roommate worriedly, but my concerns were put to an end when the teacher began attendance. Mello’s name was called out, so was mine. One other familiar name came up after us. Near. Now I knew why Mello wasn’t worried about being late to his class, and why he had ignored me earlier.

I was busy pulling out the correct book for this lesson when I realized the entire room was looking at me.

“Matt?” The teacher said my name as though it was the second time he was calling it.

I looked up at him, and asked what was up. With a sigh he pointed to his head.

“That is not appropriate eyewear for the classroom. Take it off.”

I could almost feel my face pale a shade or two. I shook my head and said I would not remove them. The few students that hadn’t been staring at me like an alien finally turned to look. I wished I could shrink into oblivion and disappear.

“Matt, take them off.” The teacher scolded.

I glanced around at some of the faces in the room. Mello still had his feet on the desk, and chocolate in his mouth. Near had toys on his desk, and another student was doing a 3-D puzzle box. With a hesitant deep breath I stood up.

“I will not remove them sir. They are a part of who I am and they keep me focused. I don’t care if they aren’t appropriate. You want them off; you will have to take them yourself.”

Most of the other students turned back around at that point. My roommate however chose that moment to cast his icy gaze in my direction. I sat back down with a gulp, biting my lip as I awaited whatever punishment awaited me. Instead, the teacher turned around and headed to the chalkboard. With that the lesson started. I was alerted however that I would be sent to office after classes were over today. I sulked in my seat and took notes. After a while I got bored so I pulled my game boy out to play a few levels while I took notes.

“I thought you said before they were just for gaming.”

I shrugged at Mello’s comment. And told him I changed my mind. Those blue eyes narrowed on me like a hawk about to spear a mouse with its talons.

“So you are fucking hiding behind them.” He whispered.

I didn’t acknowledge this comment, I was almost positive he was just trying to pick a fight. He nodded at my game boy then.

“Isn’t that distracting.” Not a question.

I shook my head and explained I was used to multitasking like this. He just scoffed at me again and his eyes went back to the front of the room. Or so I thought. The teacher reached down and took my game boy. I all but lunged, trying to grab it back.

“What is this rubbish?”

He dangled it in front of me, his height making it impossible for me to get it back. I didn’t bother answering; he knew damn well what it was.

“Perhaps you can tell me the last three paragraphs I finished explaining hmm?” The man was taunting me.

With a huff I sat back down in my seat, and in a bored and slightly pissed off tone I began reciting word for word everything he had said, including from the moment he came to my desk. No one seemed surprised; then again I had been told this place was only for the gifted. The teacher glanced at the game that had long since held the words game over because I hadn’t paused it before he took it away. He placed my game boy down on the desk in front of me. I glanced up at him questioningly but did not hesitate to grab my game from his reach.

“Carry on then.”

After he left, Mello explained to me once more that everyone here had a ‘thing’ and the teachers would leave each individual's ‘thing’ alone as long as it didn’t distract them from their work. I was happy of this news, but I couldn’t help but say it.

“Still, I think he hates me.”

Mello just shrugged. Claiming the guy hated the whole lot of them, because he hated distractions, and their ‘things’ distracted him.

“Maybe he should look into getting a new job. Next time he touches my game I’ll punch him.”

My roommate raised a brow at me then and shook his head. Telling me I should choose my battles wisely. The teacher wasn’t the first enemy I made either. Before the end of the day I had someone claiming they would be my rival. I could care less of course, and even said so to the guy. He got pretty ticked off and walked away in a huff.

It was a long time before I got back to the room, but before I could go in Mello stopped me, and reminded me about the detention I had downstairs. With a heavy sigh I turned around and made my way to the office. Turns out I would be stuck there for an hour, I was given a good talking to about arguing on my first day, and then I was congratulated for not being a pushover. Apparently this is not a place for the weak. If I were to have failed to stand up for myself I would have been shipped off.

These guys really were crazy. When I was finally allowed to leave I wasted no time getting back. I all but ran through the empty halls, sprinted up the stairs, and tore down the hallway nearly missing my door. I unlocked it and pushed the thing open, but when I looked up, my jaw dropped.

“What the Hell are you Doing?!?!?”


	6. The Confusing Dilemma

I don’t know exactly what I had been expecting when I got back to the room, but whatever it, was, it was Not this. I could not believe what I was seeing; Mello was hard as a rock, lying in his bed without even the decency to stop. He just kept stroking himself, until he came all over his own stomach. All I could do was stand in front of the closed door in shock. First because I had not seen this coming, (haha) second, because it was actually kind of hot and that terrified me.

I let my backpack fall to the floor in a heap, and the sound of that seemed to draw his attention. His blue gaze swung my way, and my heart stopped beating altogether. There seemed to be a heat in his gaze that had never been there before. In a flash however that Icy cold stare came back, and that was even more frightening, especially now.

Casual as ever, he grabbed his discarded shirt, and cleaned himself off. Staring at me, he sat up as though nothing had happened, and I was the one who was insane.

“Are we going to have problem?”

He had asked, but the words felt more like a challenge, like he was daring me to say something further on the subject. I gulped down my fear and shook my head. I did not want to get into this right now, especially not when I would much rather have a hot shower and just forget this ever happened. I bent down to pick my bag up and tossed it onto my bed. Next was grabbing clean clothes and a towel. I could almost feel his eyes on me as I moved around the room. It wasn’t until I reached the bathroom door that I glanced at him over my shoulder.

“No… But a little warning would have been nice. We need a system…”

Before Mello had a chance to argue I darted into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. All but running over to the shower I cranked the water on, and started to strip starting from the waist down. I was a little more than surprised when I looked down at myself, slowly I wrapped my hand around my shaft and a gasp nearly tore out of me. I was not gay, not at all, and yet what I had just seen, had obviously affected me.

I tried to ignore it, and stuck my hand under the spray of the shower instead. The water was taking its sweet time to heat up. Glancing down once more I shrugged, it wasn’t like Mello could magically unlock the door right?

Wrong. I was so very wrong, apparently locked doors can be opened quite easily, and despite not needing to know how, I would later find out that was also taught here. I was holding the bottom of my shirt with my teeth, teetering on the edge. My back was against the wall beside the shower, and I was pumping my hand faster. I didn’t hear the door over the shower or the pounding of my own heart in my ears. It wasn’t until i heard his voice that I realized he had gotten in the room.

“Oh? Is that for me?” My head whipped around to look at him, hand stopping all together. I was shocked. Mello was leaning against the now closed door, nothing but his dumb ass black pants on, and a smirk on his face. Those eyes of his roamed over my flesh like I was something edible, which sent my brain on it own course.

I could imagine it all too clearly, laying naked on the tile, pouring ice cold chocolate syrup on my skin, roaming lower until I covered my shaft with the sweet liquid. I could almost feel it in my imagination, how Mello would lick it all off slowly, until he reached my… Just as that thought hit me, I came hard, biting down on my lip and closing my eyes I let go of myself yanking my hand away like it was on fire. I could hear Mello laughing, and I was half tempted to try and teach him a lesson. If I wasn’t feeling quite so lazy, or tired… or if I didn’t really need a shower now. I very well may have actually done something about it. Through the corner of my eye I noticed something I hadn’t expected, nor wanted to see. A bulge in his pants.


	7. Don't Piss Him Off.

To say I was surprised was an understatement in several ways. I had not wanted to finish off like that, and certainly never in front of him. To make matters worse, this happening directly after what I had caught him doing, would not help my case.

“No it’s not, you shouldn’t be so full of yourself.”

I was beyond exhausted and not in the mood to deal with his shit right now. But I knew better than to cower in the corner. I quickly ditched my shirt and goggles and checked the temperature of the water before I scrambled into the shower. This door didn’t lock, not that a lock had stopped him the first time. My mind couldn’t help but go over everything I had seen, including just now. I was more than a little lost in those chocolate filled images from before, when I heard the shower door slide along its track.

I didn’t have to turn around to know it was my roommate, which was a good thing, but what I had expected was just him peeking in, since the glass was frosted. A whole world of Nope echoed in my mind when I realized he was in the shower with me. I turned so fast I nearly slipped, thankfully when my hand shot out it grabbed something sturdy. I was caught of guard, and yet, it seemed Mello was also at a disadvantage. I bit my lip, and without thinking too much over it, used his surprised expression against him, by slamming my fist into his face.

It took a moment for the shaking to stop before I stepped around him and left the shower. I grabbed my goggles and a towel and rushed out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. Thinking I didn’t have much time before he walked out to yell at me or beat me to a bloody pulp, I dried quickly. My hair was still damp when I slipped my goggles on, and drops of water fell onto my chest as I dragged on a clean pair of jeans. Making quick work with the belt I grabbed the first shirt my hands touched, A white and black striped shirt.

My roommate was indeed pretty pissed when he finally managed to get out of the bathroom. The water had been shut off, but by the looks of things everything else had been left alone. There was already signs of a bruise over his right eye and down along part of his cheek. I tried not to wince or feel bad, and tried to use a stern voice.

“Boundaries. You. Crossed. Them.” In my own head, I sounded pretty convinced.

But the rage on Mello’s face told me he still wasn’t impressed. And I had a foreboding feeling that this was not the end of things. I braced myself for impact, wondering what he would strike at first, and how I would possibly be able to defend myself. I had gotten a lucky hit really, even with all the fighting I had done at the old orphanage, I had never seen anyone react as quickly as Mello did. And that burning gaze, that was still cold as ice, was locked on me like a starving wolf, standing above a doe with three broken legs and panicked eyes.

So yeah, needless to say, I was scared. Not enough to shit bricks, but damn close if you ask me. I covered a shudder up by shrugging.  
“You going to stand there all day or are you going to get in my face again?”

If he kept this glare up much longer, any false bravado I had built up was going to fade, and fast. The guy was completely and utterly terrifying. Once again he caught me off guard however, storming past me and crawling into his bed as though nothing had happened. I could barely imagine the look that was on my face.

It took me two whole minutes of waiting for him to jump out of bed and attack me. When nothing of the sort happened, I headed into the bathroom to clean everything up. With the clothes in the hamper, and the light left on, I headed back towards my bed, only to pause halfway, and go back to close the door all but an inch or two. By the time I made it into bed I was beyond tired. In no time at all, I had forgotten my worries and dozed off. I wasn’t worried about sleeping in, the alarm had been set to go off around six in the morning as far as I remembered.

Sure enough around six that alarm beeped. I figured Mello would have shut it off as he had last time, but the damn thing just kept beeping and beeping. Finally I rolled onto my back and reached out for the thing, but as I opened my eyes I stopped dead. I couldn’t be bothered to breath, and I was pretty certain my heart had stopped as well.

Mello was straddling me, with an army knife in his hand, and a chocolate bar hanging from his mouth. Before I could even open my own mouth to try and say anything, that blade came rushing down. I slammed my eyes shut in that moment of sheer panic. I heard the blade slice clean through something, but felt no pain, which made me wonder if he had severed my head from my spinal cord without me dying.

I had turned my face towards the alarm clock apparently. Still breathing? Check. No amount of pain? Check. Mello still above me? Check. Knife? Nowhere in sight. Great. Just as I turned to look directly up at him, I felt something by my other ear. Naturally I turned my head farther to see what it was, and I nearly pissed myself. Had it been a half inch closer, that blade would be stuck in my head right now.

I sorely prayed that this was a dream. It wasn’t until my roommate spoke up that I snapped out of the shock of what had just happened.  
“Don’t Piss Me Off. Next time, I won't let you off so easy.”

With that said Mello got off me, off my bed, and headed into the bathroom. When I heard the shower running I finally let oxygen into my lungs again. My left hand came up to my chest, a sad attempt at stilling my racing heart. Now I knew first hand, why Mello didn’t have roommates for long. The guy was a fucking psycho, with a rotten attitude to boot.

I didn’t even have time to play a few rounds in a video game to calm my nerves. It was off to breakfast and classes before I knew it. I heard murmurs in each class about what had happened to Mello’s face. Apparently, this was a first for many to see. And that probably wasn’t a good thing. Once in awhile someone would look over at me, and I wished like hell I could crawl under a rock and die. I must have shifted my goggles a hundred times. I was not looking forward to going back to the room later.

My mind did become distracted as the day went on however. A special lock picking class had me understanding well enough how Mello had gotten in the previous night. I was still a little unsure about how this was useful as a class, but I wasn’t about to argue with anyone over it. If this was what they considered a mandatory class, who was I to say no?

During class I had all kinds of time to think though, as they went over the names of different locks and such, I found myself wondering if I could get a deadbolt for the bathroom door. Surely it would be easy enough to get out for a shopping trip. I wasn’t about to be a coward and ask to have my room changed, so a lock would be my best bet. Possibly some kind of safety net, or something for around my side of the room. Or an Iron cage for his.


	8. The Start of the Game.

Tuesday thankfully came and went much like the first day had, however, without all the teachers pestering me over things. I was starting to wonder if things would get easier from here on out, in fact, I had been lost in that thought at the lunch table, when someone slammed their hand down on the surface. I nearly jumped out of my skin, automatically my eyes shifted to Mello, but he seemed focused on something else entirely.

Following his gaze, I recognized the face instantly. This was the crazy guy who claimed I was his nemesis. Okay the word he had used was different, but it was close enough. I didn’t understand why he was staring at me though, was something up? “Hi?” Might as well say something. I watched as he shook his head before leaving, and I turned towards Mello. “What was that all about?” I froze however when he shrugged, and I couldn’t find the words to keep speaking. We had a few classes together, and yet this was the first time I noticed the bruise.

I was going to ask what the hell had happened, but I didn’t need to. The night before rushed back to me before I could stuff a proverbial foot in my mouth. Right, I had punched him. I bit my lip, trying not to smile, but I failed. “What.” Mello snapped the word before taking a bite of his chocolate. When I didn’t answer right away, his gaze narrowed, that ice cold washing over me like a wake up call I really didn’t want. It reminded me of how we woke up this morning, or how I had anyway.

“I either hit you a lot harder than I thought, or you bruise easily.” I answered honestly with what was on my mind. He didn’t like it by the way he stood up, all but snarling at me, but hey, what was I supposed to say? I heard him muttering something under his breath as he sat back down. A moment later, lunch was being served. I had only been here a couple of days so far, almost a week, and yet, they already seemed to know what I did and didn’t like.

Lunch passed in silence, and the rest of the day wasn’t so bad. When it came time that class was done, all I wanted was to go play a game, but thinking about going back to a room with Mello, turned me off the idea right away. I planned on heading to the library instead, playing my game there for a while. I had my gameboy at least. Pulling the thing from my pocket, I turned it on and frowned. The battery was dead. And the spare batteries and battery charger I had, were in that room. Crap.

Left with no other choice unless I wanted to be bored, I headed up the stairs slowly, stopping to look at the scoreboard first. This was the second time I was seeing the board, but the first time it dawned on me. The kid named Near that had given me the tour, was the top of the list, Number 1. And the second person… I felt my jaw drop as I read the name on the board for the second time since coming here. Mello. I shouldn’t have been so surprised, I really shouldn’t have, and I guess I wasn’t. I was petrified. Not only was he psychotic, he was highly intelligent if he was ranked second in a place filled with intelligent minds. Which made him twice as dangerous.

By the time I pulled together enough courage to head back to the room, it was dark out. Maybe I would get lucky and Mello would be asleep. Unlocking the door, I opted to give it a knock first, just in case he was...busy like last time. No sound came from the other side, so I pushed it open. Stepping in I tried not to look towards his bed, but thankfully when my eyes landed on the thing it was empty. Putting my things away I went over to my desk. I had just powered up the laptop when I felt an icy chill. Turning to see if the window was open I barely managed to silence the scream that tried to rip free of me.

If it wasn’t for Mello grabbing the arms of the chair, I would be on the ground already. I watched as he leaned in closer and closer, and I found myself holding my breath. What was he going to do now? After waking up to have him holding a knife over me, I was prepared for the worst. He narrowed his eyes, and I felt a shiver run through me. Then, his gaze flicked to my laptop screen. I hesitated a moment before looking myself. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so what had drawn his attention? Glancing back his way I frowned. Mello was staring at me again. Gathering up my courage I spoke up. “What do you want?” I heard him scoff, and watched as he closed his eyes long enough to shake his head.

A moment later I was free. He let go of my chair, and backed away. Which would have been fantastic, if not for the sadistic little grin he had on his face. “What the fuck?” Was probably the worst thing I could have said. His attention swung back around to me, and he didn’t look all that happy. Then again, I don’t think I have ever seen him happy. It’s only been a week but surely… My thoughts were cut short as his hands slammed back down onto the arms of my chair.

“What was that?” Mello’s voice was so cold, so venomous, I thought it wouldn’t be too far off to compare him to a rattlesnake in that instant. Nerves hit me so hard I wanted to chuck, but if I were to back down now, he would never let me go.

“I said, what the fuck?” Pausing, I waited for the strike that was sure to be coming, but he didn’t so much as blink. “I hit you and suddenly you’re a complete psycho?” He stepped back then, crossing his arms as though he were thinking about it carefully. Pulling a chocolate bar from his pocket he took to biting a piece off before he bothered to say anything.

“Suddenly? As though I didn’t make it clear from day one I don’t give a shit. As though it wasn’t obvious I have a temper and can hold a grudge? Were you born yesterday?” I listened as each word fell like a blade, stabbing their way into my mind. I could feel as the fear started to take over, and yet, all at once. I knew just what to do. After all, this was a game right? My own, personal game. Smiling wide I made myself more comfortable.

“I notice you haven’t been eating as much chocolate recently. Getting low?” By the expression on his face, I was right on the mark. “Let me guess, you can’t go out to get more because you haven’t been behaving well enough or something right?” Okay, now he looked like he was ready to gut me with a rusty knife and take a dump on my head, but at least I was on a roll. “Why don’t you stop holding a grudge over a weak little punch? If you do, I’m sure I can swing another ride out, maybe I will get you enough chocolate to last you the rest of the week.”

I saw the moment I had his attention. The set of his jaw gave it away, and I could almost see him mulling it over in his mind. I had this. “Are you trying to bribe me?” Mello’s tone was strangely warm compared to earlier, and yet, he still had me ready to run. Had he seen through my plan? Was he going to deny it? “What makes you think it will work? You think I don’t have other ways of getting what I want?” I ran over myself in my mind, trying to find anything I could use against him, if only for a moment.

“I know without the extra chocolate you won’t be able to beat Near. Your score is still lower than his.” The anger that rushed over his expression had me ready to beg for mercy, but I swallowed it down and continued. “Besides the chocolate, I can tutor you in math. That’s where Near keeps getting ahead. Your math skills suck.” It was only for a flicker of a second, as he finished his chocolate, but I saw it, earnest contemplation. Getting up out of my seat, I offered him a small smile. “If you don’t come out in first place on Friday when those score sheets are posted, I will be your personal punching bag for a week.”

The way Mello looked at me now had biting my lip, wishing I had kept my mouth shut. What if he dropped his scored on purpose just to wail on me freely? This was a mistake. I was surprised by his answer however, I had expected him to reject the help, say something about how he could do it on his own, so when I heard the word fall from his lips, I was speechless. “Deal.”


	9. Deal with the Devil.

What had I gotten myself into? Every spare moment I had went into going over math problems with Mello. And there were only two full days before the scores were posted on the board. From what I understood that happened in the morning on Friday. Right after a test that is done during the first class. Would I even be able to get his scores up high enough in such a short amount of time? I had to drop one of my afternoon classes just to go out and get him chocolate for the next little while. Wednesday, and Thursday were all I really had in order to get him up on top. On top. With terrible clarity, I relived that little moment in my head from the other night, chocolate syrup all over my body, leading Mello towards… “Matt? Earth to Matt? Hello?” Glancing up from my game I borrowed a page from Mello’s book, looking at the person as though I had no interest in what they were saying. Better than looking like I wasn’t listening right?

“What is it?” They said something about why I wasn’t paying attention to what they had said, so I shrugged. “Who say’s I wasn’t paying attention? Continue.” If they wanted to talk, who was I to stop them from doing so? They were going to get in trouble with the teacher if they kept it up anyway. Or so I thought, a few short seconds later the end of class came. I didn’t bother looking up from my game as I rose out of my seat and headed for the door. I would only have until I got back to the room to play. After that, I had to teach Mello math. Something I wasn’t exactly looking forward to. Just my luck too, I saved the game just in time for the light to go red. Might as well just turn it off now.

The walk back had to be one of the most boring trips I had made yet. Mentally I ran over math problems in my head. For me, it was easy, just think of math like the health of a character in an RPG. You start with one number, if your attacked it goes down, if you heal it goes up. If your health is divided between your teammates you're left with X amount depending on the number of players. If you get a health multiplier it would- My thoughts were cut short when I came to the door. It opened even before I reached for the the thing. Mello was standing on the other side, looking at me for a long moment before he stepped aside. “Well?” By his tone, he was waiting for me to move. And with a sigh, I did.

“You’re going to want to sit down.” I dragged my chair over to his desk, ignoring the chocolate bars hanging out on the edge of the thing. For two hours I went over the same problems with him again and again. No matter what I did, he didn’t seem to get it. Eventually he grew so annoyed he went for a shower to “cool off” I rolled my eyes but let him go. To be honest, I needed a break anyway. I waited until I heard the water running, before leaning back in my seat and staring at the ceiling. Why couldn’t Mello do math like I could? It was so easy when you think about it in the terms of health in a game, and I tried explaining it to him that way but… A change of position had me pausing as my eyes landed on his chocolate bars. Right. Chocolate was His thing, just like gaming was mine. And if games didn’t help him with math...maybe chocolate would?

The next thirty minutes of his overly long shower were spent breaking some of the bars into pieces. Thankfully the things were all perfect little rectangles. Another chocolate bar, I set off to the side, the broken up pieces were triangles, and while it wouldn’t fit with the other bar shape, it would make a great reward to treat Mello with if he got an answer right. As terrible as it was… I planned on starting him off with grade school math. “What the fuck are you doing!?” Hearing Mello all but squeal the words had me wanting to jump up and get ready to fight, however I stayed seated.

“I think I found a way to teach you math.” Was all I said. I ignored the fact that he sat without getting dressed. At least he had a towel covering him up. “I realized that explaining how I did math wasn’t helping you any, and looking at your little addiction here actually gave me an idea.” He grumbled something about not having to destroy his chocolate just to get him to pay attention, but I ignored it. “Let’s start with something overly simple. Bear with me here, but what is one?” I moved a single rectangle of chocolate to the middle of the desk, away from the pile with it’s brothers. “Plus one?” Moving a second piece beside it, I watched as he scowled at me.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Mello looked about ready to snap his teeth at me, but I shook my head.

“Answer the question. One plus one.” He sighed so loudly I almost laughed, but he did eventually answer me. “Say ah.” He gave me a real stupid look, but after a few seconds his lips parted a little. Not a lot, but it was enough. Grabbing one of the triangle pieces of chocolate I brought it up to his mouth, when he took it I moved on. Moving two new pieces of chocolate to the middle of the desk I posed the next question. “Two plus two.” When he answered correctly, despite some muttered protesting to not being an idiot, I gave him another piece of chocolate.

It was around nine in the evening when we were getting to the harder stuff. “Okay, so if each rectangle is one piece, and a whole bar holds thirty, you would need five pieces multiplied by what, in order to make a full bar?” I didn’t bother moving the chocolate around on the desk anymore, he had gotten into a grove. I could actually watch the gears starting to turn quicker and quicker in that mind of his.

“The answer is six, five times six would be thirty, and that makes a full bar.” Giving him another piece of chocolate I worked on opening a new bar to reward him with, while mumbling something about dividing it in half, and multiplying it by three. “Half would be fifteen, and fifteen three times would a bar and a half, sitting at forty-five pieces of chocolate.” Okay, to be honest, I hadn’t actually expected him to answer that one, and it must have shown on my face. The smile he offered me however was great, for once, he didn’t look like a complete maniac.

“Forty-five times ten.” I fired off.

“Four fifty.” He answered almost as quick.

“Times six.” I countered. And I watched him think it over for a few long moments, before his answer came.

“Two thousand, seven hundred.” He sounded like he was questioning that one a little more, but he was right, I couldn’t deny that. Tossing the chocolate bar back on the desk I smiled.

“Divide it in half.”

“Thirteen fifty.”

“Divided into thirds.” I thought that one would puzzle him, but after a few long seconds, where I imagined he might be seeing little chocolate squares in his mind, he passed me an answer.

“Four Fifty.”

“Minus six hundred.” Let’s see if he could deal with a negative, I don’t think we had covered that yet, but he was proving to be more intelligent than I thought, now that I figured how to make it work for him. He had paused for a moment then, his face taking on more of a blank stare. He would be great at poker if he could pull that off on a regular basis.

Perhaps this question had stumped him? “Minus one fifty?” Holy shit, he actually got it. I fired out something about three to the power of four. Something else we had hardly covered besides what it meant. He thought about it for a long moment before giving me a number. “Eighty…” His expression faltered for a moment, and I realized he was counting in his head. “One?”

I couldn’t help it, I was so excited that I had finally gotten something through his thick skull. I smiled wide and lunged forward to give him a short hug, before handing him the chocolate bar I had opened just a few minutes ago. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes!” For the first time since I had lashed out at him, I watched as a surprised expression swept over his features. “What? You should be happy! You got it right! You got all of them right!” Had I known how much he was struggling with math I probably wouldn’t have bothered offering to help. But the fact that he was picking up on it so quickly sure made it easier. “We’ll take a break today, and work on some more tomorrow, in the meantime, I expect to see you actually working a little in math class tomorrow. And hopefully after the test this week, you won't be handing in a portion blank.”

I was moving my chair back to my desk when his words stopped me. “You hugged me.” The words were so quiet, at first I wasn’t sure if I had heard them right or not. Turning to look at him I could see the confusion all over his face. He hadn’t even seemed to have touched the chocolate I gave him a moment ago. Maybe he was one of those people who didn’t like to be touched unless under his own conditions...oh wait, that was pretty much most normal people. Blinking for a moment I shrugged my shoulders.

“Well yeah, I’m happy for you. I hadn’t expected you to be so far behind with math, but you’ve gotten pretty good at it already.” Again with a comment about not being an idiot. “I never said you were.” He rolled his eyes, and that attitude of his started to make a new appearance. Whatever he mumbled next I didn’t quite catch. “Look, I’m sorry if I surprised you or something, I won’t do it again.” Those icy blue eyes swept my way and I felt like I was frozen solid. My hands were still resting on the back of my chair as he walked over. It was so hard to read his expression right now.

“You’ll still help me with math tomorrow like you promised right?” His question threw me off, did he think just because he had gotten better that I was done trying to teach him? Tomorrow was Thursday, which meant between classes and after classes were done I would have time in between to work with him. By the time I had an answer he was so close I could almost feel his breath on my face. With alarming acceptance I was glad he smelled sweet, like chocolate...and mint? I almost wished he had bad breath, so I could have an excuse to turn away...did I need one?

“Of course I’ll still help you on Thursday. You need some rest and such, and I want to play a game for a while before I go to sleep, refresh you know?” I watched those eyes of his narrow for a moment, and damn him but he leaned in a little too close, a shudder ran through me before I took a step back. “Anyway, I think I should grab a shower myself.” My nerves felt like they were all over the place, and I could hardly think, every step he took closer, all I could think about was having melted chocolate licked off my throat, lips, thighs….ah hell. Stumbling backwards my hand found a wall and I caught myself. Why was it that he looked like a predator right now? What did I do to piss him off this time?

My hand fumbled behind me for a long moment until it found the handle, and I nearly fell through the door into the bathroom. “I’ll be back in a few minutes!” I half hollered before kicking the thing closed. And while I knew he could get past the dang thing, I locked the door anyway. My nerves were a mess, my brain felt jumbled, I had no idea what the hell was wrong with me. Reaching into my pocket I set my gameboy down. Reaching into my other pocket, I stared at the package in my hand for a long moment. It seemed to work for people on TV…

Sitting with my back against the door so Mello couldn’t get in, I turned on the bathroom fan, and opened the pack of smokes. I had never had one before, but I pulled one free and lit it up, staring at the burning end for a long moment before I took a drag from the thing. I coughed like a pansy for a few seconds, tears pricking my eyes. I figured that was it, I wasn’t a smoker. But as the coughing stopped, I did feel a little more calm. Or maybe I was just distracted. I tried another drag to be sure.


	10. Failure

Thursday started out as usual. Mello was up early, doing...whatever it was he did first thing in the morning, before giving me a shake. I had barely cracked an eye open when he said it was time to head down for breakfast. Glaring at the clock I debated whether or not I could skip it and just eat at lunch time instead. I was sure I had grumbled something about doing just that, but apparently that wasn’t in the plan today. “No, you said you would help me, I want to practice some more math problems with you over breakfast.” I heard Mello say the words, and yet I could hardly believe them at first. Grumbling, I sat up, grabbing my goggles and slipping them on before I looked at him.

I really hoped he wasn’t serious. And yet as I looked at him, it was more than clear. He was standing there with his arms crossed looking quite stern. “What?” I listened as he muttered something about smelling different. Shaking my head I sighed. “No I don’t.” Pushing my way out of bed, I got dressed. I didn’t even bother grabbing my gameboy this morning. As soon as I had a long sleeve shirt on, and stuffed my key in my pocket, we were heading out the door. “Why do you always get up so early?” Mello just shook his head at me, and I could see the faintest hint of a grin on his face. Cocky Bastard, what was he thinking? When we reached the table we usually sat at, he put a sheet of paper in front of me. I stared at it for a good forty seconds or so before glancing his way. “What the hell is this?”  
Propping his feet up on the table Mello just rolled his eyes at me. “It’s a math sheet genius.” I was so not ready for this. “You know, if you weren’t up so late playing games all the time, it might be easier for you to get up in the morning.” I mumbled something obscene that had him staring at me a little differently. Though it was hard to say whether he was just surprised or approving of my choice of words. Tapping on the sheet he brought my attention back to it. “I got this math thing down all well and good now, but seeing the numbers on the page like this? Entirely different.” Ah so that was why I was being bothered so early. He couldn’t figure out how to see the number themselves as chocolate? Speaking of… I hadn’t heard a snap since I got up.

I looked over at Mello once again, just to sit up straight. He looked tired. Way tired, up all night later than me tired. “Did you sleep at all?” The way he twisted his gaze back to me said everything I needed to know, even if he wouldn’t answer. Shaking my head I looked over the sheet, before pulling a chocolate bar from my pocket. “Idiot, here.” Passing it over the table towards him, I didn’t get a chance to see his expression, but the sound of the wrapping coming undone told me he wouldn’t be refusing. And when that painful sounding snap as he bit into the chocolate sounded, I actually felt myself relax. It was like the ticking of a clock, annoying at first, until you grow used to it just always being there in the background. Smiling faintly I pulled a pen in my pocket, and turned the page to face him. “Okay look, this isn’t any different from what we have already been doing. If you look here, you can treat each of these numbers like a piece of chocolate. If every ten pieces makes one full bar…” I started drawing on the sheet of paper as I explained.

When I was certain he would understand, I asked him and he nodded. So I made him do a few questions on the paper. When he passed it back to me I went over a few things, and corrected his long division. “Wait.” I stopped when Mello said that, he still sounded confused despite saying he understood it a lot better. “I didn’t know you were left handed.” The words left his mouth, and I was torn between slamming my head on the table and asking if he was an idiot, and laughing until I fell out of my chair.

“Seriously? We have a bunch of classes together, we eat together, and we share a room, and you never once noticed?” He shook his head. Had he just not been paying attention before? And if so why would he now? Chuckling I shook my head this time, just as food came to the table. He pulled the sheet of paper off the surface, and I picked up my fork getting ready to eat. It was strange though, he was watching me so intently I actually felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Pausing with a bite on it’s way to my mouth I flicked my gaze towards him “What is it now?” He shook his head, saying nothing, which was really starting to get annoying, and then he began eating. At least now it would be quiet, but geeze, talk about a failure on his part. Was he really just that surprised to learn I wasn’t right handed?

Between classes he was actually rushing from place to place, making me sit with him and go over more math before class started. In our lock picking time he ended up skipping the class all together, just to sit with me at the desk and go over more and more. I swear I did so much work with him, my nightmares would have floating math problems for a while to come. By the end of the day however, we were back in the room and he pulled another sheet out to work on. Sitting at the desk beside him I sighed. Shaking my head he questioned me on what was up. “You kidding? I’m Bored outta my mind!” We have been working on this all day.” The scowl on his face said that probably shouldn’t be what I said. But it was true. All I wanted to do was play a game for a while. I hadn’t touched one all day. He hadn’t said a word however, so I got up out of my seat, I didn’t even get to reach for a game however. Hands slammed into my chest so hard I ran out of breath before I even hit the floor.

Gasping for air I looked up at him. “What the fu-Shi-eep.” Flattening myself against the floor as he all but threw himself at me I was surprised when nothing happened. Slowly cracking an eye open I could see the angry expression on his face and I cringed. His hands were just above my shoulders, planted firmly on the floor. I couldn’t shimmy up and get out from under him. Lifting my head I glanced south. He had me pinned there too. He was almost sitting on me, one leg between mine, the other pressed up against my hip. Panting now that I could breathe again, I was surprised when one of his hands came to the back of my head. “Hey, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” But it was too late. Even as my hands flew up he had a hold of the strap.

“Do you think this is some kind of game? I’m not screwing around. I will beat Near by any means necessary and if that means using you then I will. You will do as I ask or I will Make you do it.” His tone was icy cold, and yet burning with enough anger I could swear my blood was boiling. I tried to plead with him to let go, but my words went unnoticed. “I’m trying to be nice to you. I don’t make comments about the hair dye, and I didn’t tell Watari or the others that you’ve been smoking indoors. I leave you to your games when I want to sleep. I think I am being more than fair. Am I not?” I hollered again about just letting me go, but he shook his head. Wait, how did he know I dyed my hair? I’d been doing it since even before the orphanage I came from. How could he possibly...Oh god the box. I must have left the box of Dye in the bathroom one day. Not that it mattered. Who cared if he knew? Sheer horror took me out however as he wrenched my goggles from me. Twisting and trying to kick didn’t get me very far. He tossed them out of reach, I flailed out a hand pushing him off. But by the time I rolled onto my stomach and reached for them, he grabbed my wrists and pulled them behind me.

His leg kept my hands pinned as he grabbed a handful of my hair. “Do you want me to fail? Do you want me to punish you?” My eyes were still closed as I tried to shake my head. I wouldn’t cry, bloody hell I didn’t care if he killed me, I wouldn’t dare shed a tear for this asshole to see. Just as I mumbled something against the floor the door flew open. Mello jumped off me so fast, I didn’t even see where he went. Pushing myself up off the floor I grabbed my goggles and pulled them back on, half expecting to see a teacher or something. What I saw, was Near. Those cold dead eyes of his flicked between the two of us. Mello’s anger toward the kid was palpable. And even without having known anything, he looked right at me. I was still huffing a little after getting up, and it took me a moment to realize there was more going on than I thought. Near looked me over, before glaring in Mello’s direction. There was a tiny smile on his face when he glanced back at me for the last time.

“Ready to join a better crowd yet Matt?” Near asked quietly.


End file.
